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Viva Italia!
Two weeks ago in Castellaneta Marina, Italy, the fans came alive as their hometown women qualified for their second consecutive Fed Cup by BNP Paribas final, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to defeat France 3-2 in semifinal action. The victory gave Italian tennis fanatics yet another reason to celebrate, continuing what has become an impressive run in tennis in the past couple of years by the Italian women.
Appearing in the final for the first time at the 2006 event, Italy pulled out a 3-2 win over the Belgians for their first ever Fed Cup championship. This year’s team of Tathiana Garbin, Mara Santangelo, Francesca Schiavone and Roberta Vinci are now looking to become just the sixth country to win back-to-back Fed Cup championships in the event’s 44-year history.
The Italians boast one of the strongest contingents on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, and several of their stars, including Garbin, Santangelo and Schiavone, will be among the players taking to the courts of the Rexall Centre at this year’s Rogers Cup presented by American Express. Italy is one of only four countries (along with Russia, the United States and France) to have at least eight women populating the world rankings list.
Leading the pack is Garbin, who is in the midst of enjoying one of the best years of her career. At No. 25 in the world, she is currently the highest ranked Italian singles player on the Tour, and at 30 years of age, she also owns the highest ranking of any player north of 30. After finishing last season at a career-high No. 40, Garbin has continued to improve in 2007, jumping into the Top 30 in February and maintaining her position there ever since. Garbin’s game is best suited to the clay surface, where she has experienced the most success of her career. It was on the clay of Roland Garros where she stunned top seed Justine Henin in the second round of the 2004 event, handing the Belgian what remains her most recent defeat at the Grand Slam. She won her first title at the Barcelona Kia in Barcelona, Spain last year and made her first ever fourth round appearance at a Slam, reaching the round of 16 at the most recent French Open.
Challenging Garbin for the right to be called the best Italian female tennis player is Santangelo. She has shown rapid development in the past couple of years, rising from No. 85 at the end of 2005 to a current ranking of No. 28 in the world. Santangelo has shown even greater prowess as a doubles player, rising to No. 6 in the doubles world rankings after capturing four titles so far this season. Most notably, the 26-year old earned her first ever Grand Slam trophy when she was crowned the 2007 French Open champion along with partner Alicia Molik (Australia). Her other titles include the Pattaya Women's Open presented by TAT (w/ Pratt), the Bausch & Lomb Championships (w/ Srebotnik) and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (w/ Dechy).
The hero of the most recent Fed Cup victory was Schiavone, currently ranked No. 27 in the world, who gave her team two and a half points with two come-from-behind victories in the tie. Just last week, she played some of her best tennis of the year to win the first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title of her career at the inaugural Gastien Ladies in Bad Gastien, Austria. The 27-year old has proven to be one of the more consistent players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, finishing each of the last four years ranked in the Top 20. Like her Fed Cup mate Santangelo, Schiavone is also a talented doubles player, collecting six doubles titles in her career and reaching the Top 10 of the doubles rankings for the first time earlier this year.
With not only a Fed Cup title, but also a World Cup soccer championship currently in the nation’s possession, Italian pride is high in the world of sports. A strong performance by its talented women at the Rogers Cup presented by American Express could give the country yet another athletic triumph to count amongst its sporting accomplishments.
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